1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device for a motor vehicle, and an information display method in the device, for displaying physical quantities or conditions that are needed by the motor vehicle such as the rotation number of engine, the balance of gasoline, disconnection of power, and the position of hand brake.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As an existing display device there is known one with structure as shown in FIG. 1.
The bar display device 1 for displaying such quantity as rotation number of the engine, comprises a bar display section 2 consisting of fluorescent display tubes and a scale section 3 that is provided in the area above the display section 2. Further, beneath the bar display device 1, there is provided a dot matrix display device 4 for displaying warning information such as disconnection of wire and oil level, or running information by means of numerals, Roman alphabets, kana characters, symbols, or others.
In such an existing structure, displays by bar graphs and by dot matrices are carried out by separate display devices. Therefore, it is not easy to provide a display device using the dot matrices, together with the engine rotation meter, gauges, and so forth, in a limited space for motor vehicle instruments. Further, even when the both kinds of display are provided, the dot matrix display device is used only for emergencies such as displaying of disconnection of power and oil level, without being needed under normal conditions, so that it is disadvantageous from the cost point of view. Moreover, when the dot matrix display device is not in use for displaying information, it is not desirable esthetically either.